


A Bet

by MonumentForTheDead



Category: Chicago (2002)
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, Slow Burn, Some fluff then and there, Velma and Roxie being assholes as usual, semi explicit sex in later chapters, this is an old fic please be kind
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:07:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26014738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonumentForTheDead/pseuds/MonumentForTheDead
Summary: An afternoon of boredom and a gambler instinct leads Annie to an edgy and possibly chaotic bet. What would the outcome of it be? Only hell knows...
Relationships: Annie/Liz (just slightly tho), Roxie Hart/Velma Kelly
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	1. A round of poker

**Author's Note:**

> This was posted on fanfiction a long time ago, my english was probably not the best, but I'm reviewing each and every chapter as I go along, and I'm trying my best to correct any mistakes.   
> On that note, I hope you all enjoy reading it! I'm still very proud of this fic, and Velma/Roxie is my favorite pairing in the world.

Annie puffed on her cigarette, trying to calm her nerves before facing the girl on the other side of the table.

" _That's a full house, which means I win, Mona"_

" _That ain't a full house! And even if it was, I'd still win, I've got a sequence"_

" _It_ is _a full house, you nitwit; see? A pair and a three of a kind… That makes a full house. And you ain't got a sequence. It ain't even called a 'sequence', it's a straight; you'd need five cards to make that, and you only got four… June, pass me those ciggies before I lose my mind"_

The red haired woman sighed as June pushed the amount of six cigarettes in her direction, beside her, Liz laughed while shaking her head in a pretty smug gesture. Mona still looked at her with suspicion in her eyes, probably still trying to figure out why she didn't have that straight. If Annie was anybody else but herself, she would probably have punched the newbie girl in her face for even questioning her about her win.

" _Okay, June, it's your turn to shuffle… And for fucks sake, people, let's place better bets in this table! Six cigarettes for a full house? If Velma was here I'd probably be with the double by now!"_

The four women in the table laughed loudly while June shuffled the worn out deck; all of them knew Velma was just a terrible player, but she insisted in raising her bets whenever she found it possible, only to lose everything to the more experienced players in the table.

" _Where is the girl, by the way? I miss playing with her… At least she knew when she lost, unlike Mona here"_ June said while distributing the cards.

" _I dunno, haven't seen her since the middle of this month… The royal highness must have grown tired of playing such a pedestrian game with the peasants"_ Annie retorted, giving a quick glance at her cards while laughing. She turned her eyes to the table, and then to Mona, who looked back at her with a puzzled look.

" _What are you looking at?"_ The inexperienced player asked, hiding her cards just in case. _  
_

" _We're waiting for you to place the small blind on the table, god damnit"_ Annie suddenly burst with irritation, slapping the surface of the table right before receiving a scolding look from one of the wardens that were supervising the room _._

" _But why do I need to do that? I've already paid for two cigarettes at the previous time! Anyway, this isn't Vegas, do we really need to follow every stupid rule?"_

" _You need to follow the goddamn rules if you wanna play with us; you're sitting next to June so you need to..."_

" _That's it; I can't play like this anymore… Let me know when this sap finally learns how to actually play instead of beating her gums"_ Liz, who had remained quiet until now suddenly got up from her chair, throwing her cards in the general direction of the table.

Annie was about to protest and Liz was about to turn her back and go away if it wasn't for the loud and violent shouts that echoed in the common room. The source of the voices came from Roxie and Velma, who were standing just inches away from each other, looking like they could charge with full force at any minute.

" _Do you have any problem with me, kid? Maybe you've lost something in my face, that's why you insist in staring at me"_ Velma said harshly, her voice abandoning the silken and nonchalant tone it always possessed.

" _Oh I have an infinite number of problems with you, Velma; it would take me a lifetime to tell them all to you. And it's no news to anybody that I just plain hate you"_ Roxie stroke back with hate, her face mere millimeters away from the brunet.

" _You ruined my life, if someone has the right to hate you, it's me!"_

_"It's not my fault the public doesn't want to see your washed out face anymore!"  
_

The four women in the table gasped in surprise as they saw the enormous slap Roxie received on the left side of her face, which send her stumbling a few feet away from Velma, who was ready to strike her again like a lioness that's got its tail stepped on. Luckily for the blonde, Mama Morton was just passing by the room, and in a quick and experienced move, managed to trap Velma's arms behind her, before any other guard could intervene. She dismissed the bewildered wardens while Velma still thrashed and squirmed against her. The brunet could be quite strong, but she was no match to Mama, who held her arms in place like they were nothing but twigs.

" _You better stay away from me, you twat!"_ Velma spat the words with hatred, while Roxie still held her own face in disbelief. Her baby-blue eyes as wide as two saucers.

" _Now Velma, that would be enough"_ The matron finally spoke, turning the enraged woman around and forcing her to be face-to-face. _"Maybe an evening locked up in your cell without dinner will calm your nerves, what do you think?_

" _Okay, just let go of me!"_ The brunet tried to calm her voice, tossing her shoulders a little more to get rid of Mama. _"The bitch gave me a strange look, I snapped, it won't happen again"_

Velma knew best than going search for problems with the matron, even if the woman had grown to be her "friend". If she abused her powers too much, she could end up thrown in the solitary; and god knew that was the last thing she wanted to happen.

" _I haven't done anything to her, Mama, I was just passing by, I swear!"_ Roxie suddenly spoke, getting closer to the woman, but not too close, since Velma was still in between the two. _"What? Is it a crime to even look at Velma? Or I…"_

" _I've had enough with you two. Back to your cells, and stay there! If I see any of you out before dinner I'll throw you both in the hole, understand?"_

A heavy silence fell upon the room as Mama finished her orders. A chill ran down Liz's spine at the mention of "the hole". It was the common name given to the solitary, and she had spent more time there than she would like to have. Those bitches would remain quiet if they knew what was best for them.

" _Yes, ma'am"_ They both said in unison before bending their heads down and heading to their cells. All the while keeping a safe distance between one another.

" _Does anyone have another complaint?"_ Mama asked, casting a wide and intimidating glance to the rest of the women that watched the whole scene. The woman was confronted with a dead silence. _"That's better, ladies"_

* * *

" _Holy shit, what was that!?"_ June asked in a whisper when the sudden conflict was put to an end.

" _I guess that even the princesses of the Cook County jail can have their privileges cut short huh?"_ Annie said with a crooked smiled. Although she got along pretty well with Velma and Roxie it just annoyed her the fact that they were better treated because of their money and fame. If it was her in their shoes, she would probably receive a week washing the toilets, in the least.

A few minutes passed and the quartet started another round of poker. It ran smoothly and silently; Mona was trying her best to memorize the rules and understand why she was always losing when she was so certain she had a great hand. At least now she was accepting her defeat without complaining.

Annie looked around and sighed, her elbows rested lazily on top of the table; life for her in prison was as dull and shitty as the life she had outside. Well, at least now she could watch those kinds of commotions and conflicts that happened sporadically in the jail, but it just wasn't fun to watch if she hadn't started them. She would give up a full bottle of booze if only she could start some havoc, but it was too risky, and Annie was never a person who liked to take risks.

" _You know what I think? I think Velma and Roxie could let off some steam if they just fucked"_ Liz mumbled under her breath as she took one of the cigarettes from her pile and lit it, dragging the smoke slowly.

The red haired raised an eyebrow to Liz and the latter answered with a small and wicked smile. Mona laughed quietly while nodding her head in agreement, but June wasn't buying it.

" _C'mon, they wouldn't fuck each other even if they were paid for it!"_

" _Do you really think so? Remember how much I hated this red haired bitch a while ago?"_ The skinny and disheveled brunet smirked, softly kicking Annie's legs under the table. June smiled, knowingly; she had lost the count of how many cigarettes were paid for her to leave the two women alone when they were doing chores. She didn't need to guess what Annie and Liz did when they were left alone.

" _It was a different kind of hate… You were two nobodies that were worth nothing. Roxie basically stole everything that was important to Velma, there's no need to be smart to know that… Just read the newspapers; Roxie is the bee's knees now, Velma is practically all washed out; they have a good reason to hate each other… A three of a kind, ladies, I won this time"_ June wrapped her speech while adding the small amount of cigarettes into her pile.

" _Do you wanna bet?"_ Annie said suddenly, throwing her cards into the deck. Something in her just snapping, making her eyes shine with wild determination.

" _Bet what?"_ Asked Liz, while shuffling the cards one more time.

" _Bet that until the end of this month, Velma Kelly and Roxie Hart will have sex"_


	2. Don't piss me off

" _Don't think this is over, Hart... I'm going to fucking kill you"_ Velma hissed through her teeth, looking down when both passed through a warden on their way to their cells. By an unfortunate coincidence, Velma's cell was just two cubicles away from Roxie's.

" _You wish, Kelly. If you touch a single string of my hair, you get an express ticket to the death house. You know how much I'm loved nowadays, don't you?"_ Roxie responded, stopping in front of her own cell. Katelyn seemed to be waiting for her, carefully holding an ostentatious bouquet of white roses.

Roxie delivered a sugary smile towards the hunyak, taking the flowers from her hand with a sugary ' _thank you!'_ before giving the girl a dollar; she took the bill from Roxie's hand and quickly disappeared from their sight.The blonde starlet's cheery façade dropped in a heartbeat as she focused her attention on Velma.

_"See, Velma? I'm loved by everyone… Oh, those flowers came with a letter!"_ Roxie took a small piece of paper from the middle of the flowers and read them out loud _"'Dear Mrs. Hart, we are very touched with your story, and we strongly believe justice will be made soon, have hope and faith and you will be out shortly.' How sweet of them!"_ Roxie smiled widely by seeing the anger building up in Velma's face. _"When it was the last time people delivered flowers to you, Velma? It must have been a while…"_

Roxie only had time to gasp in shock as Velma brutally snatched the bouquet from her hands, disheveling the flowers and the letter, throwing them to the ground. She fumed the blonde with glowing brown eyes that looked like liquid amber dancing under the dim light of the prison. 

" _Don't piss me off, Hart"_ Velma's words dripped like poison. She allowed herself to feel a little bit better by the sight of Roxie's astonishment; by her tiny pupils and opened mouth. It felt good knowing she could impose a frightening figure, especially towards the blonde.

Roxie shuddered as she watched the fiery brunet turn her back on her and walk arrogantly to her cell; she breathed in deeply, realizing she had hold her breath in the moment Velma snatched the flowers from her hands. Her breath came out shakily and she took quite a long time to calm down the beating of her heart. She would never thought she could be so nervous under such a hateful gaze. Not even Fred Casely had frightened her more in that fateful night when she bumped him off. After all he didn't hate her, he was just pissed off… With Velma was different; she knew that if given the chance, Velma would kill her without a second of hesitation or remorse. Besides, Velma had those strong hands – she could tell perfectly from the slap she received. It would surely hurt for hours, that was undeniable – those hands, in comparison, were much bigger than her own, and she couldn't help but think about them around her neck… She could put an end to Roxie's life in a quick second if she wanted. The blonde shuddered again while kneeling down and carefully picking the scattered flowers from the ground.

She would never admit it to any living soul, but now she was positively starting to fear Velma Kelly.

* * *

" _No way, Annie, you ain't gonna drag me into this!"_ June said, half joking, half serious.

" _Why? Are you afraid to lose?"_ The redhead teased, letting out a delightful laugh.

" _Of course not! I'm just not betting in something that stupid"_

" _I'm in, girls! God knows I need some fun in this hole"_ Mona joined, bending her body forward, towards the table.

" _Good; you're betting on what?"_ Asked Annie, taking full focus on the three women at the table.

" _I bet that they won't do it, in any way, in any circumstance"_ Mona said, stressing her words carefully.

" _As for me, I bet Velma will beat the shit out of Roxie before they can do anything interesting"_ June laughed loudly, giving in into the game.

" _I think they will do it, and I think Roxie will be the first to run after Velma"_ Said Liz, lighting up another cigarette.

" _I, on the other hand, think that Velma will be the one to start anything."_ Annie finished with a fiendish smile. _"Are we all settled, ladies? Now we need to define our bets"_

" _That's going to be hard… You know we don't have shit to offer"_ June groaned, already feeling a little demotivated.

The four inmates spent quite a long time brooding about what they could bet; it was true, the valuable things they possessed in that place was close to nothing, but on the other hand, anything could worth something, even if it was just a pack of cigarettes.

In the end, Liz offered a week of laundry, when she would take care of the winner's underwear with a smile on her face.

Annie wagered a bottle of booze, but the good kind of booze; one she could get with Mama if she laid a very smooth talk along with a couple of bucks.

Mona offered 10 dollars her brother had sent to her.

And June offered a box of caramels she could easily ask for her mother.

As they all got up to start their assigned chores for the day, they couldn't help but feel quite anxious, whether it was for the two jail starlets to have sex, or just an epic flogging. But most importantly find out who would be the winner.


	3. Smooth Talk

Velma Kelly sighed as she dropped herself slothfully on her bed. She felt the little extra comfort two mattresses granted to her bed and she thought somberly: Nowadays she would never have the privilege of gaining another mattress from Mama, at least not for free of course. She turned her head to the right and read the headlines from newspapers and magazines she used to cut out and stick to her wall. _'Not in memory do we recall such fiendish and horrible double homicide' 'Notorious starlet Velma Kelly accused of gruesome crime' 'Stage queen in jail' 'Dramatic night at the Onyx; Velma Kelly is arrested after breathtaking performance'._

She whined quietly in frustration, burying her face in the pillow. It had been almost two months since she practically disappeared from the press; now every piece of newspaper she could put her hands into talked about Roxie, all the headlines were about her and her annoying cute little face was stamped in all magazines. Even Mama was growing fond of her and Velma couldn't help herself in feeling a strong jealousy… After all, she was Mama's favorite girl, or at least she used to be.

How did she ever allow her fame to be taken away like this? And by a little pathetic chorus girl who had no charm whatsoever. She laughed with herself knowingly; Billy Flynn could turn anyone into a star if said person paid well… She had no idea how Roxie managed to get the money to pay the attorney, but she did, and now she was being bathed in fame while Velma fell deeper into oblivion.

She turned on her back again in order to breathe, only to turn around again and curl herself into a ball as a surge of intense cramps assaulted her lower belly; not only she felt miserable, she had her period cramps to top it all off. Velma rarely felt vulnerable and over emotional, but she couldn't help those feelings from coming once in a month.

She pressed both hands against the aching spot, uselessly trying to ease some of the pain. She groaned and whined almost pitifully, feeling the urges to punch the wall or just scream loudly at someone.

She tossed a little bit more, trying to find a comfortable position to be in; she noticed the sunlight was almost gone by the dusk, bathing her own cell into semi-darkness. She forced her mind to remember if she ever hated someone as much as she hated that blonde… Of course she hated Veronica, and even Charlie a little bit, but Veronica was her sister, for Christ's sake, on rare occasions they would get along well. And Charlie was good for the sex, she couldn't deny that… But Roxie was just unbearable to her.

Somehow Velma always managed to find something she liked in everyone she met, even if it was just fairly; she supposed it came from being an artist. You get used to eccentricities and over the top people, and those characters are more often then not quite pleasant to be around. But that blonde... All she wanted in her life at that particular moment was to punch her in the face, and even if that granted her a week in the hole she wouldn't regret it.

She closed her eyes for a minute, only to be startled by the alarm indicating dinner time. She got up and ran her fingers across her hair, smoothing down the brown strands. She thought about Roxie and the perspective of seeing her again, and promised to herself she would control her impulses. Maybe she could get through dinner without losing her mind or dying of pain.

* * *

" _There she is, Annie!"_ Liz nudged the red haired slightly in the ribs when she noticed Velma entering the cafeteria _"And there is Roxie. Now ladies, if you excuse me, I have a bet to win"_

Annie rolled her eyes before signaling for Velma to sit next to her; she knew exactly what Liz would do: she would convince Roxie, very subtly to open up to Velma. And Annie was about to do the exact same thing with the latter.

The four inmates had initially protested at the idea of manipulating both women, but they decided the bet would be even more entertaining if both got confused and even more pissed off. Besides, it increased the competition between them and the prospect of chaos. After all, that was all they wanted to see, and there was nothing better than a good old catfight.

" _Hey Velma, it's been a while since we haven't seen you, how're you doin'?"_ Annie asked cheerfully, stepping to the side in order to leave an empty space for Velma.

" _It feels like Satan is tap dancing in my womb, Annie, but apart from that I'm just peachy"_ Velma's voice carried the usual amount of acidic sarcasm the girls were used to, but she also sounded awfully tired.

The first whistle echoed through the cafeteria and the women sat down on the long benches in unison, the second whistle came and they removed the metal cups from the top of their plates. As soon as she got the chance, Annie laughed sarcastically earning a very fed up look from Velma.

" _Is that why you slapped Roxie a few hours ago? I mean, you're right, the girl is a pain in the ass, but maybe you should take it easier on her, you know?"_

* * *

" _Why are you saying this to me?"_ Roxie asked warily, trying to be as far from Liz as she could. It was no news that the girl had a fame of being unstable.

" _It's just friendly advice… Maybe you should try to get along with Velma"_ Liz said through her teeth, her fingers twitching and aching to reach for her box of matches.

" _Friendly advice? Since when you're friendly with someone?"_

" _When I want to, god damnit!"_ The skinny brunet yelled, only to receive a warning from a supervising warden. She looked down and tried to focus on her food; Cook County's specialty: a dark, thick broth of something.

* * *

" _This is ridiculous Annie… I can't even think about having a normal conversation with Roxie"_ The brunet rolled her eyes, poking at her food with the tip of the metal spoon. Not even five minutes in and she was already regretting sitting next to someone that liked to talk to her.

" _But you could try, you know… You wouldn't believe the amount of positive things you could get from each other"_

" _Yeah, like what?"_

" _I don't know, common interests and such… You would have to discover it by yourself"_ The red haired winked in good nature.

" _The only common interest we have is to see each other dead, I personally think this is not a good conversation_ _starter"_

" _Why can't you girls be as peaceful as I am?"_ Annie smiled sardonically, knowing Velma would find the comment funny.

" _Says the woman who poisoned her own husband"_ Velma tried to laugh along with the red haired, but a sudden burst of pain deformed her smile into a grimace.

* * *

" _I'm just saying you could both try… Unless you want to have red marks on your face as long as you stay here"_ Liz mumbled, considering if she should finish her dinner or walk away from Roxie before she could imprint her own palm in the other side of her face. She couldn't know fully how Velma felt towards the blonde, but she was getting close to.

" _Oh my god, is it that bad? Some reporters are coming to see me tomorrow, I can't show up with my face as red as a tomato… Oh, that bitch is going to pay, I…"_

" _Another good reason to get along with her, right?"_ Liz cut her out in mid-sentence, fidgeting with the cuticles of her own free hand. _"Or maybe let her bruise you in a place no one can see, I don't know"_

" _What do you mean by that?"_ Roxie asked confused, but before she noticed, Liz had already got up and was quickly making her way out of the cafeteria.


End file.
